Manufacturing Celebrity: Latino Paparazzi and Women Reporters in Hollywood
Document Type
Book
Publication Date
2020
Abstract
In Manufacturing Celebrity Vanessa Diáz traces the complex power dynamics of the reporting and paparazzi work that fuel contemporary Hollywood and American celebrity culture. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, her experience reporting for People magazine, and dozens of interviews with photographers, journalists, publicists, magazine editors, and celebrities, Diáz examines the racialized and gendered labor involved in manufacturing and selling relatable celebrity personas. Celebrity reporters, most of whom are white women, are expected to leverage their sexuality to generate coverage, which makes them vulnerable to sexual exploitation and assault. Meanwhile, the predominantly male Latino paparazzi can face life-threatening situations and endure vilification that echoes anti-immigrant rhetoric. In pointing out the precarity of those who hustle to make a living by generating the bulk of celebrity media, Diáz highlights the profound inequities of the systems that provide consumers with 24/7 coverage of their favorite stars.
Recommended Citation
Díaz, V. (2020). Manufacturing celebrity: Latino paparazzi and women reporters in Hollywood. Duke University Press.
